Beverage bar fixture



Jan. 23, 1951 L. E. SMITH BEVERAGE BAR FIXTURE Filed Sept. 8, 1948 IN VEN TOR. BYZAURENCE E SM/TH Patented Jan. 23, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENTl OFFICE BEVERAGE BAB Laurence E. Smith, Cincinnati, Ohio Application September 8, 1948, Serial No. 48,263

3 Claims. l

This invention relates" to av trayV rest which. can bev attached to a serving or: beverage bar or the like to provide ai platform for resting a tray during the filling of orders and for other purposes.

An object of this invention is to provide a stable platform on which a serving tray may be sup.- portedl and which can be. attached to a convention-all serving bar for supporting a tray;

A further object of this invention is to. provide a tray'rest which can be removably attached to a bar' without damaging the iinish of the bar;

A further object of this inventionv isi to providey a tray rest of the type set. forth having a platform which can be pivoted. or swung away from the bar to permit cleaning beneath` the tray rest and to provide access to the l bar and bar-fixtures beneath the same.

A further object of this invention is to provide a tray' rest which can be positioned at a serving station at a-bar' to prevent interference by customers with servers at the serving station.

A further object of this' invention is to pro vide a tray rest of the type' referred' to above' which may be provided with aA towel rack and other adjuncts;

The above and otherobjects of this invention are attained by the meansA described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective vi'evv showing a tray' rest constructed in accordance with an embodiment of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of thel tray rest; andl V Fig. 3 is an exploded perspectivelviewi showing the construction of a part of the hinge con nection between the platform: and support sec'- tlons of the tray rest;

Briefly, the present invention provides a tray rest which can be attached to a conventional type of bar having a hump along an outerA edge thereof,v or to other types of bars. The device includes a bracket section which can be attached about the edge of the bar. A platform. section is hinged to the bracket section and. may ex tend across the bar from the bracket section tol form a platforml above the bar. When desired. the platform section may' be swung upwardly away from the bar to permit cleaning thereof and to permit access to, fixtures of thebar located beneath the. platformV section. The bracket and' platform sections; are equipped with legs which support them in spaced' 'relation above the bar to permit drainage thereof. Both the (Cl. S12-140.4)

bracket section and the platform section may be formed of strips or bars of metal or they like, appropriately joined' together to form theI sections. The legs which support the platform section may be rubber-tipped to prevent damage to the bar. A towel rack or otherV auxiliaries may be: attached to the bracket section for convenience.

In the drawing a tray rest is illustrated. having a stationary bracket section indicated generally atv I0. A hinge l l joins a platform section indicated generally at I2 to the stationary bracket. A towel rackv I3 isattached' to the bracket section. The platform may be turned on the hinge to the o-ut-of-the-way position of Fig. 2 or to its normal supporting position of Fig. 1.

The bracket section includes a plurality of fiat vstrips i4 curved to fit an outer edge of a bar I6 of the type common in taverns and other foodand-drink dispensing establishments. In Fig. 2 thebar is indicated in dot-dash lines. As shown, each. of the strips i4 is curved to substantially a Cshap'e. An outer edge Il of the bar includes an upwardly extending hump I3 anda lower ridge i9, about which each of the strips I4 can. fit. Lower ends 2l of the strips are' held' together by a flat transverse bar or link 22, which may be riveted or otherwise rmly attached to the lower ends 2l'. Upper ends or portions 23 of stri-ps. I4 are bent to be horizontal when attached to the serving bar and are-linked by' a second transverse bar 2'4, to which the strips may be riveted assliown. As indicated, portions 23 are substantially horizontal when attached tov the bar.

Two short legs 25' extend downwardly from opposite ends of transverse bar 24 and carry suction cups 21, which can rest on an upper surface 28 of bar IB just inside the hump to support the upper end of the bracket section in spaced relation above the bar. Screws 2S threaded in lower transverse bar 22 can be forced againstv a lower4 surface 3l of serving bar I6 to hold bracket section I0 in place on the bar. The screws 2S can be turned to embed conical points' 32 thei'e of in the lower surface ofthe bar. However, suction cups: 231 protect the upper iinish of the bar and prevent marring thereof. The screws 2t and legs 26 may be directed towardA eachother and, as shown, maybe cop`lanar for firmly holding the bracket section in place. L

The platform section l2 ismadeup of a series. of' inetal' strips 33', which may extend away from hinge Il substantialh'vl as extensions of' strips I4. Detailsof construction, oi hinge Il.` are set forth below'. Outer ends 316 of strips 33 are joined by a transverse bar or link 31, to which the strips may be riveted r otherwise firmly fixed. Legs 38 are attached to opposite ends of bar 31 to extend downwardly therefrom. Lower tips 3Q of the legs 33 may be equipped with buttons of rubber or the like for resting on bar l or a bar fixture 4i, as shown in full lines in Fig. 2. Outer ends 35 may be bent downwardly toward the bar, as shown, to be out of the way.

The construction of hinge Il between the bracket and platform sections is most clearly shown in Fig. 3. A tip 43 of each strip I4 extends beyond transverse bar 24 and is cut away, as shown, along the center line. Each tip 43 is bent to fit about a pivot pin 44. An inner tip 4S of each strip 33 is similarly cut away along the center line and bent about pin 44. Spacers 41 fit about pin 44 to separate adjacent strips. Caps 48, a cap at either end of the pin 44, have pins 49 which fit in axial bores in pin 44 to hold hinge Il in assembled relationship, as shown in Fig. 1. The cut-away tips 46 and 43 face each other and permit the platform section to swing about the pivot 34 to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, to provide access to the bar and to bar fixtures beneath the platform section. As shown in Fig. 3, shoulders 50 and 5i on the tips 43 and 45, respectively, are spaced a sufcient distance from pin 44`to permit the platform section to swing about the pin to the elevated position shown in dotted lines (Fig. 2) at which shoulders 5d and 5| abut the strips to hold the platform section in elevated position.

The towel rack i3 is attached to opposite outer strips i4 by brackets 52. Each of the brackets 52 has a lower curved portion 53 which nts about the towel rack I3. Upper ends 54 of the brackets 52 are bent to fit against the lower portions of the strips I4 and are firmly attached to the strips by riveting or other durable means.

Thetray rest is adaptable for attaching to any conventional bar having a hump about its outer edgeor may be attached to other types of bars. The strips of the platform section form extensions of the upper portions 23 of strips i4 of' the bracket section, and the platform section, and portions 23 form a stable tray rest. The device is decorative yet it forms a sufcient block or obstruction to keep customers away from the lservers station. The suction cups 21 and rubber tips 39 prevent damage to the upper surface of the bar. When it is necessary to clean the bar or to reach bar fixtures beneath the platform, the platform section I2 may be swung back to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 to provide ready access to the portion of the bar beneath the tray rest.

The device is preferably made of strips of sturdy, corrosion-resistant metal such as stainless steel, but may readily be constructed of other materials such as copper, aluminum, brass, or plastic materials, or the like. Many Variations in the construction of the device are possible, and the invention is not intended to be limited by the foregoing detailed description and the drawing, but only as set forth in the appended claims.A

What is claimed is:

1. A tray rest for a beverage bar having an exposed side edge, saidtray rest comprising an elongated bracketsection of substantially C-shape in section, 'the upper arm of said bracket section being substantially iiat, means attached to said bracket -section'for resting on the top of the bar to support the upper arm of said bracket section in spaced relation above the bar, clamp means attached to the lower arm of the bracket section and adapted to engage the bottom of the exposed edger of the bar to hold the bracket section on the bar with the upper arm of the bracket section substantially horizontal, a platform section having a flat upper side, a hinge connecting the platform section with the bracket section, said hinge being disposed below the upper side of the platform section, means for holding the platform section spaced above the bar the same distance as the upper arm of the bracket section, the tray rest being unobstructed above the upper arm of -'the bracket section and the upper side of the platform section, whereby a tray may be slid onto the platform section without obstruction, the platform section being adapted to swing upwardly on said hinge to render the top of the bar accesible.

2. In combination with an elongated beverage bar having an exposed side edge, a tray rest which comprises a bracket section including a C-shaped gridiron of closely spaced members extending around the exposed side edge of the bar, a pair of legs extending downwardly from the upper arm of the bracket section and resting on the top of the bar to hold the upper arm of the bracket section spaced above the top of the bar, a pair of clamping screws threaded in the lower arm of the clamping section and in engagement with the bottom of the exposed side edge of the bar to hold the bracket section with the upper arm thereof substantially horizontal, a platform section, said platform section including a gridiron of closely spaced coplanar members, a hinge connecting the platform section and the bracket section, said hinge being disposed therebelow, and a leg attached to the platform section remote from the hinge and adapted to rest on the top of the bar and support the platform section in horizontal alignment with the upper arm of the bracket section, the platform section and the upper arm of the bracket section being unobstructed above their upper faces, whereby the platform section forms a continuationof the upper arm of the bracket section and a tray may slide onto the top of the platform section from the exposed side edge of the bar without obstruction, the platform section being adapted to swing upwardly on said hinge away from the bar to expose the top of the bar.

3. A tray rest for an elongated beverage bar having an exposed side edge, said tray rest comprising a bracket section including a plurality of C-shaped bars, a pair of spaced connecting bars attached to and extending between the C-shaped bars to maintain the C-shaped bars in spaced parallelism to form the bracket section, upper arms of the C-shaped--barsbeing straight and coplanar, the bracket section being adapted to extend around the exposed side edge of the beverage bar with the upper arms of the C-shaped bars horizontal and spaced above the top of the bar, a pair of downwardly extending legs attached to the upper arms of the C-shaped bars and adapted to rest on the topof the beverage bar to maintain the upperarms spacedabove the beverage bar,l and a pair of clamping screws threaded in the lower arm of the bracket section and adapted to engage the bottom of the outwardly extending edge to hold the bracket section on the beverage bar, land a platform section, said platform section including aplurality of closely spaced-bars adapted to extend transversely of the beverage bar, a pair of -connecting bars attached to and extending between the transverse bars to hold the transverse bars in closely spaced parallelism, a hinge connecting the platform portion to the upper arms of the bracket section, said hinge being disposed therebelow, and a leg attached to the platform section remote from the hinge and adapted to rest on the top of the beverage bar and support the platform section in horizontal position with the upper sides of the transverse bars in alignment with the upper sides of the upper arms of the C-shaped members, the tray rest being unobstructed above the upper arms of the C-shaped members and the upper side of the platform section, whereby a tray may be slid onto the platform section without obstruction, the platform section being adapted to swing upwardly on said hinge for rendering the top of the beverage bar accessible.

LAURENCE E. SMITH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 145,771 Bassett Oct. 22, 1946 346,481 LAfricain Aug. 3, 1886 1,083,675 Eustis Jan. 6, 1914 1o 1,403,368 Allen Jan. 10, 1922 2,169,183 Fish Aug. 8, 1939 2,311,149 Worth Feb. 16, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS 15 Number Country Date 91,316 Switzerland Oct. 17, 1921 

